Giants Buster Posey Wins National League Most-Valuable-Player

Tigers Miguel Cabrera Takes AL MVP

Friday, November 16, 2012

Buster Posey
- photo by Tim Evearitt

Buster Posey was named the NL's MVP on Thursday in balloting conducted by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, topping off an awards-laden year. The Giants catcher has won two Comeback Player of the Year honors, a Silver Slugger Award as the league's top offensive performer at his position and the "Willie Mac" Award as the club's most inspirational player.

Posey received 27 of 32 first-place votes and 422 points to outdistance Milwaukee's Ryan Braun, last year's MVP, who received three first-place votes and finished second with 285 points. Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen (245 points) and St. Louis' Yadier Molina (241), who garnered two first-place votes, were third and fourth, respectively.

The right-handed-batting Posey also established himself as a formidable clutch hitter, compiling a .340 average with runners in scoring position while amassing 18 game-winning RBIs and 31 go-ahead RBIs.

Overall, Posey hit .336 to become the first catcher to win the NL batting title in 70 years. He also amassed 24 home runs and 103 RBIs.

Posey became the third catcher to earn the Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards as well as perform on a World Series-winning club. The other two were Cincinnati's Johnny Bench and the New York Yankees' Thurman Munson.

Speaking on MLB Network, Posey cited some of his teammates:

"Angel Pagan getting on base, Marco Scutaro coming over, Pablo [Sandoval] was on fire toward the end, Hunter Pence was driving in runs. You can go down the list -- Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford getting big hits, Gregor Blanco making the best catches I've ever seen all year. It goes on and on and on. I'm just happy to play with those guys."

Posey also singled out Giants head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner and the rest of the team's medical staff for helping him overcome extensive left leg injuries that he sustained in a home-plate collision with Scott Cousins of the Marlins on May 25, 2011.

Nobody knew how Posey would respond to this setback. He responded by increasing his production as the season progressed, reflecting his physical recovery as well as his adjustment to playing after missing the majority of the 2011 season. Posey built his MVP candidacy by hitting .385 with 23 doubles, 14 homers and 60 RBIs in 71 games after the All-Star break.

Posey's became the 11th catcher to receive the MVP distinction in either league.

San Francisco's previous MVPs were Barry Bonds (1993, 2001-04), Jeff Kent (2000), Kevin Mitchell (1989), Willie McCovey (1969) and Willie Mays (1965). Mays also won the award in 1954 when the franchise was based in New York.

Miguel Cabrera

Miguel Cabrera put an exclamation point on his 2012 campaign with the AL MVP, beating out Angels rookie sensation Mike Trout in voting cast by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Cabrera received 22 out of 28 first-place votes, with Trout receiving the other six. Cabrera finished with 362 points; Trout had 281.

It marked the second straight MVP award for a Tigers player, Cabrera following in the footsteps of vocally supportive teammate Justin Verlander, and the first MVP for a Venezuelan-born player. It's the first MVP for a Tigers position player since Hank Greenberg in 1940.

Though Cabrera follows Carl Yastrzemski, Frank Robinson and Mickey Mantle in 1967, '66 and '56, respectively, as players to win an MVP in a Triple Crown season, it's difficult to suggest that alone won him the award. Hall of Famer Ted Williams, a two-time Triple Crown winner in '42 and '47, finished second in MVP balloting both times.

Unlike Wiliams' Red Sox, Cabrera's Tigers made it to the postseason thanks to a September rally. Without Cabrera's offensive boost, it's extremely difficult to envision them getting there.

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